General News
TUC: The TUC launched the new 18:18 union fundraising campaign for the Stephen Lawrence Trust when Doreen Lawrence addressed its Black Workers' Conference last week.
The 18:18 campaign, launched 18 years on from the death of Stephen Lawrence, who was 18 when he was murdered, will help to build on the work of the Stephen Lawrence Trust in improving the skills & employability of socially-disadvantaged black teenagers & young adults.
The 18:18 campaign, launched 18 years on from the death of Stephen Lawrence, who was 18 when he was murdered, will help to build on the work of the Stephen Lawrence Trust in improving the skills & employability of socially-disadvantaged black teenagers & young adults.
HEFCE: The Higher Education Funding Council England has recently received confirmation of the Government’s policy on student number controls for full-time higher education students for the 2013-14 academic year.
FDA: Rob O'Neill, the FDA's national officer for the House of Commons has responded to comments reported in recent Mail on Sunday by Paul Farrelly MP and other unnamed MPs, about complaints of bullying against Mr Farrelly by 5 staff at the House of Commons.
BP: A new website about Queen Victoria's life, using material from the Royal Archives, has been launched by Buckingham Palace, as an educational & public resource to mark the Diamond Jubilee.
‘Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee Scrapbook’, is focused on Queen Victoria’s life & reign, in particular her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. It contains documents from the Royal Archives, paintings & photographs from the Royal Collection, as well as audio & film clips.
ACE: Last week saw the soft launch of The Space, a new free digital arts service developed by Arts Council England in partnership with the BBC. At the heart of The Space is a new commissioning model, enabling artists & organisations to film and make work specifically for the main digital platforms. Some are live-streaming their events, others trailblazing new formats, all with mentoring support & training from the BBC where required.
DSA: The Driving Standards Agency wants you to turn up for your driving test, despite the potential for strike action by driving examiners on Thursday 10 May. You should still turn up for your test in case it can go ahead. Not all examiners are union members and those that are might still turn up for work.
ACE: Applications have now opened for funding for a final round of People's Record projects. People's Record aims to capture opinions & reactions to hosting the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games. Grants of up to £1,000 will be awarded to projects, taking place between June & October 2012,
HEFCE: The Higher Education Funding Council England is a key supporter Universities Week 2012 which kicked off last week with activities around the UK to highlight the contribution that higher education makes to the Olympic movement, to sport & culture, and to the wider economy & society.
TNA: The National Archives are in the process of replacing their current Catalogue and DocumentsOnline service with Discovery, which is TNA's new catalogue, providing a new way to explore their collections. They will be switching off their existing image delivery service, DocumentsOnline, on Wednesday 9 May 2012. At this point all hyperlinks currently pointing to DocumentsOnline will be redirected to Discovery.
The Catalogue is still available, and will remain so until this summer, but they will be using Discovery as the primary way to search their collections.
PC&PE: The Health Committee has launched an online forum for women affected by PIP breast implants to give their views on the treatment they have received from private clinics or the NHS following the emergence of information about risks associated with PIP implants.
FSA: PepsiCo is recalling some of its Tropicana Kids Orange Juice Drink multi-packs because they contain only water rather than the orange juice blend. The water is affected by microbiological contamination. If you have bought the product, don’t drink it. The Food Standards Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice. .
Monitor: Monitor has recently instructed Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to take immediate action to improve A&E waiting times at the Trust. Monitor has decided to intervene to ensure that the Trust makes effective improvements to the delivery of emergency care and addresses all underlying issues that have caused the poor performance. It should be noted that the Care Quality Commission has no outstanding concerns about the outcomes of patient care at the Trust.
HO: Holidaymakers planning to travel this summer should check their passports are valid and leave plenty of time to apply for a new one. The peak period for passport applications has begun, so if you need a new one, you should allow at least 3 weeks for it to arrive and longer if you are applying for the first time.
BIS: If you live in an area with a thriving business community looking to grow & become a real force both here & abroad, then you could be living in the most enterprising place in the UK.
Communities are being encouraged to come forward (entries close 30 May 2012) and take part in a nationwide competition that will see a town, city or area crowned as the country’s most enterprising place.
Communities are being encouraged to come forward (entries close 30 May 2012) and take part in a nationwide competition that will see a town, city or area crowned as the country’s most enterprising place.
MoJ: The Ministry of Justice is issuing a warning to the public after an increase in scams where consumers are telephoned or emailed by people falsely claiming to be from the Ministry of Justice.
Scammers trick members of the public by suggesting to the person they're calling that they could be owed money – often for repayment of bank charges, payment protection insurance (PPI), or a court settlement - but first ask for an up front payment from the consumer in order to enable them to receive the money.
DH: Almost 300 former child migrants have been reunited with their families in the UK thanks to the £6m Family Restoration Fund. The fund was launched in July 2010 and is administered & supported by the Child Migrants Trust.
Its aim is to cover the travel costs to help reunite former child migrants, who were sent under school-leaving age from Great Britain & Northern Ireland to Commonwealth countries, with their relatives.
Its aim is to cover the travel costs to help reunite former child migrants, who were sent under school-leaving age from Great Britain & Northern Ireland to Commonwealth countries, with their relatives.
